Update from Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition, 4-28-14

April 28, 2014: This post is chock full of resources and various updates, downloads of recent newsletters, new media articles and PBS specials about solitary confinement, exciting upcoming events with Lynne Stewart, and information on our weekly meetings.

On the evening of April 5th, hundreds gathered in downtown Oakland for the National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area Chapter’s (NLGSF) annual fundraising dinner. The Testimonial Dinner, as it’s called, increasingly brings in community-members and activists involved in grassroots struggles in addition to the lawyer, legal worker and law student members of the organization. This year, the NLGSF honored California Prison Hunger Strikers and the coalition (PHSS) of family members, activists, and friends who supported the strikers.

This packet is intended to be a resource to help folks involved in different forms of anti-prison work. The packet contains information on prison officials, ranging from wardens to medical officers, at major prisons in California. There is a specific focus on prisons that have participated in the hunger strikes over the past few years and are classified as higher “security levels” and include solitary confinement. The hope is that this packet will help make your advocacy easier.

Materials for Torture Awareness Month
from the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT)

June is Torture Awareness Month, a time to remember the 27th anniversary of the United Nations’ Convention Against Torture and honor survivors of torture.

We are pleased to be able to provide you with a toolkit to help you and your congregation or faith group plan educational, advocacy and worship events. You can download the toolkit at www.nrcat.org/June2014Toolkit.

Alert: New CDCr Regs-
What’s on the List of BANNED BOOKS & PUBLICATIONS?

CDCr has proposed regulation changes to ban “obscene material,” which no doubt will include publications like the SF Bay View and other progressive media. And certainly mail/letters could fit this category as well. The banned text would get placed on the “Centralized List of Disapproved Publications.”

For example, CDCr is banning: “Written materials or photographs that indicate an association with validated STG members or associates, as described in subsections 3378(c)(8)(C)-(D).”

On April 24th, the ACLU released Worse than Second Class: Solitary Confinement of Women in the United States. Recognizing that women in solitary are often ignored, the report examines the gendered impact of solitary and issues a series of recommendations. These recommendations assume that vulnerable populations will continue to be incarcerated and focus on ameliorating the harmful effects of solitary.

Solitary Nation, aired April 22: an up-close, graphic look at a solitary confinement unit in Maine’s maximum security prison.Prison State, airing April 29: follows four residents of a housing project in Louisville, Ky., as they cycle in and out of the state’s jails.

Every Monday night in Oakland there are coalition meetings.
The sole purpose of the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition is to amplify the voices of California prisoners as they strive to achieve their Five Core Demands. The Coalition consists of family members, formerly incarcerated people, lawyers, organizations, and individuals who stand in solidarity with the hunger strikers. This weekly meeting focuses primarily on planning, promoting and reporting on actions and events directly related to the struggle for the Five Demands (primarily, to end long term solitary confinement), including prisoner updates and legal and media strategies and reports.

Towards Liberation! After 40 days, Palestinians suspend mass hunger strike in Israeli prisons-UPDATE: New details released on agreement to suspend Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike Read here http://samidoun.net/2017/05/breaking-palestinian-prisoners-suspend-hunger-strike-after-40-days-of-struggle/ May 26, 2017 — After 40 days of hunger strike, Palestinian prisoners have suspended their hunger strike and announced that they have achieved victory in their humanitarian demands, following 20 hours of negotiations between the strikers’ leadership and Israeli occupation prison […]

PRISONERS UNITED OF SILICON VALLEY Newsletter #1-Link to full newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/gwhq2hp PRISONERS UNITED OF SILICON VALLEY ▼ December 22, 2016 – Newsletter 1 – LETTER OF APPRECIATION – Greetings and solidarity to each other and all who participated in our initial Hunger Strike to end the arbitrary use of solitary confinement and inhumane treatment in Santa Clara County Jails. Before we […]

Report back from Prisoner Representatives’ first monitoring meeting with CDCR-published by the Center for Constitutional Rights May 23, 2016 By Todd Ashker Last September, in Ashker v. Governor of California, California prisoners reached an historic settlement agreement with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that is bringing an end to indefinite solitary confinement in California prisons. The Settlement Agreement includes hard-won (and […]

PHOTOS and REPORTBACKS from Rally Against the Torture of Prisoners-On February 1, 2016, people from all over California gathered in Sacramento at the headquarters of the CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCr) to demand an end to the dangerous and deliberate sleep deprivation being inflicted on the people in solitary in Pelican Bay State Prison SHU, under the guise of “welfare checks”. Before […]